I have decided to end my blog because I was not focused or active enough to be responsible to those of you who have faithfully followed my rantings. Instead I plan to develope a business administration book that nobody will read but my wife and kids.
I truly appreciate your support and will let you all know when my book is ready. That is if I do it in this lifetime.
THANKS
“The only real progress lies in learning to be wrong all alone,” is one of those quotes I have always loved. Albert Camus, a French author and Nobel laureate, was the author of this insight.
I must admit that I have never thought of myself as a brave person. I fear telling my boss what I think. I played in the US Army Field Band during the Viet Nam war. I am absolutely petrified when it comes to failure. Even police cars make me sweat a little.
But, now is not the time to let fear push us into the corner. “Courage is knowing what not to fear.” – Plato.
We have to learn to not allow others to take advantage of the meek, mild or under-advantaged. We need to stand with a clenched fist against those “to big to fail.” We need to tell our politicians that we are tired of their placating the rich, bowing to the powerful and selling the average person out.
It is time to plan aggressively for your own future, too. Do the impossible. Create the improbable. The only person who can stop you is yourself.
“Optimism is the foundation of courage.” -Nicholas Murray Butler
I have owned a business that went belly up, developed a market promotion and only two people showed up, even been an actor in a play where EVERYONE forgot their lines (Chekhov can do that to a cast). I am alive and moving forward despite the set backs, no thanks to my bravery but maybe my ignorance. Sometimes ignorance can be a great teacher. The one thing it has taught me is not to be afraid of fear. Edward Weeks, former editor of the Atlantic Monthly said, “To live with fear and not be afraid is the final test of maturity.”
Well I guess at 63, it’s about time for me.
Be brave in your thoughts, words and deeds. You only have one life and believe me it goes by fast. Last year I decided to go aggressive with my 401K in the midst of the down turn. I made 44% in that account, not because I was smart.
“Courage is fear that has said its prayers.” -Dorothy Bernard
I have neglected my duties as a blogger thoughout the holidays and I promise you that one of my New Year’s resolutions is to post at least one blog a week. OK now I’ve posted my first one, another to follow soon.
Sorry that it has been so long since my last blog, but sometimes it’s better just to shut up.
My mother always told me, “don’t make rules that you don’t intend to follow.” This was great advice when I was raising three children. If the truth be known I didn’t always follow that advice as well as I should have..
My brother likes to say, “you can’t legislate morality.”
My mother was a crazy liberal and my brother is a flaming conservative. I have found both insightful when it comes to their life mantras.
We seem to be in a time when everyone is trying to make rules in order that someone else doesn’t get an advantage over them. What ever happened to “turning the other cheek?” We make rules in all walks of life, that we can’t enforce. We try to plug every hole with another rule.
I have no answer to this problem but I think we should all look at it as a problem
When I was in intercollegiate athletics there was a movement to reduce the regulations in the NCAA. After much debate, ringing of hands and outright anger the NCAA manual became thicker and grew from an 5 by 8 inch book to a 8 by 10 inch monstrosity. Unfortunately the schools and coaches who wanted to cheat… did so with impunity. Most of them were the large well know schools or the coaches on their way to the stars. You know… the ones too big to fail.
I am now in finance and once again people are screaming for more rules and regulations. That has REALLY worked in the past. I work at a relatively small credit union and we have been besieged by auditors because we are doing too well and growing too fast. Where were these auditors a year ago when the big banks… you know… the one too big to fail… manipulated the system to work to their advantage… believe me no matter how well my credit union is doing I don’t have a million dollar parachute for my retirement years (which have come and gone).
Regulations don’t make us more honest, fair or concerned about our brothers and sisters, only our commitment to being a decent human as has been described by Christ, Mohammed, Budha and other GOOD people in our human history.
I must admit I am shamelessly putting the word “hiring” in the title of this blog in order to see if my last blog was just a fluke. I got over 20 times the number of hits on the blog entitled “There’s More to Hiring Than Putting a Warm Butt in a Cold Seat.” My guess is that people searched the word “hire” in blog titles and found mine.
Let’s not waste this blog on just that experiment.
As a 63 year old, white, male I have been lucky (that’s probably not the correct word) when it comes to finding a position. In my 51 years of working I have held nearly 20 positions from paperboy, to actor; retail manager to athletic administrator and car sales man to radio announcer. The phrase jack of all trades but master of none truly applies to me.
The one trait that I have cultivated, that has helped me through my working life, is not to fear change. I have been fired 3 times and lost interest most of the other times. Even at 63 I am looking for a better job and dreaming about what I want to do when I grow up. My wife thinks I’m nuts because we are constantly getting letters of rejection back from all the places that I send job applications.
If you can keep your opportunities open, it will give you hope and excitement about life. Network, network, network all the time. Let your friends know that you are open to new opportunities. I wouldn’t pass this information along to people who might let your boss know. It’s amazing how vindictive some of them can be when they find that you are looking around. I have often said “loyalty is a two-way street,” but many bosses aren’t of the same opinion.
Those of you, who are currently looking for a position, be brave. Go outside of your field if necessary. Take a temp job. Do anything even if it means swallowing you pride. A friend of mine and a former cocaine addict, works as an assistant manager at a local grocery and makes just above minimum wage. When he finishes at the grocery he puts on a clown costume and stands in front of a pizza place waving and yelling for people in cars to turn in. When I asked him about the embarrassment of doing that job he told me, “it’s not as degrading as being a coke addict with no money to buy my kid food or clothes.”
Remember the old adage “it’s easier to get a job when you have a job.”
Be careful out there, though. There are lots of places that make a lot of money off of frightened out-of-work people. There are hundreds of places that will help you write the “perfect” resume for a fee. There are lots of places who claim to have dozens of high paying jobs in their back pocket all you have to do is pay a fee to take their class and those jobs are open to you. There are lots of places who claim to have the inside track to glamorous jobs are you have to do is pay a fee for their inside information. In many cases you can find those positions by looking in that industry’s online magazines.
Check with the Better Business Bureau before you spend a dime.
Don’t be afraid to take a position that you have NO background in. The internet is a wonderful place to get more information that you need. Most people are faking it anyway. Have you ever noticed that you care find an “expert” on any subject with an opinion on every side of the question. Most of us really don’t know what the hell we’re doing out here. The good thing about being 63 is that I’ve made more mistakes than most of you so I know what not to do. My mother-in-law who is 92 is one of America preeminent experts on everything. She’s been there, done that.
I’ve mentioned my friend, Denise Wymore, in my blogs before http://denisewymore.wordpress.com/. She has a very insightful blog about the credit union industry and business culture.
In a recent blog about sales and service cultures she ended the blog with a quote that inspired me to write this blog… ”You can’t teach caring. You either do or you don’t.”
In a nutshell that is why hiring well is so important. I use to be in the athletic department at a big university that was so proud of its school of human resources. Of all the kids that came through my office, that were enrolled in that program, I don’t remember one that was a people person. I’m sure they thought they were but actions tend to betray us all.
We seem to hire employees either on the “first come” basis or what I call the “due diligence” where we pretend that numbers, charts and a battery of questions answered correctly will point the magic finger at best hire. I’ve seen a lot of older, ugly, bald, black and fat competent people turned down using that method. I love those “60 minute” type shows, where they send in to a job interview a gorgeous woman with a mediocre resume. Then, later after outfitting the same woman with a fat suit, removing her makeup and giving her a sterling resume we almost always find the better looking version of woman gets the job. Some much for serious human resource work.
I use to get a kick out of how we hired a head coach in certain high profile sports. The athletic administration decided who they wanted or in many cases, the university president, then the name was sent to the HR department to rubber stamp the hire. Some times the wife of the coach was hired in the same way. The coach’s secretary always had to meet strict HR criteria (unless the new head coach was really pushy).
Well, maybe that is why an article appeared in my paper about a man in town who is an accountant with a masters degree who has been looking for a job since 2006. Oh, by the way he’s 76. We need to remember to listen to all potential employees. We need to put our prejudices behind use and hear who the person is… invest ourselves in the personal relationship with the interviewee. If we need a person who cares find out if this person really does care. If we need an accountant hire the best we can not the youngest, best looking or the first one in the door.
If you allowed a thought about our senior accountant to creep into your mind like… “well he is little old”, “why would he need a job” or “he’s probably a little feeble ” maybe you should be your company’s interviewer for new employees.
A friend, Denise Wymore, http://denisewymore.wordpress.com/ wrote a blog this week about a time capsule which got me thinking. I write this blog (obviously not frequently enough) for myself and eventually for my family.
Recently a couple of great friends and my father-in-law passed away and another contracted cancer which started my mind rolling around thoughts of my own mortality. It happens more as I get older.
I would like to leave one thought (mind you, no one has told me that I’m dying) for my family and friends who know I am not much of a believer in “life after death.” As a minister’s son I have a pretty good knowledges of the Christian scriptures. My father encouraged me, also, to look into other religious beliefs. I think of myself as a Christian because I try to follow the teachings of Jesus, but I find it hard to beleave in heaven and hell. If you, my family and friend are concerned that I may go to the later let me calm your concerns.
I am not sure if there is a God. But, if God is our father as I am a father, I have no fear of going to hell. Why would God, the best father in the universe, allow anything like damnation to happen to his son. I wouldn’t do that to my children, no matter what they did. Surely God is a better father than I am.
Rest peacefully tonight my family and friends. Death is part of life and if you have tried to follow the tenants of your religion, filled your life with joy and forgiveness then if there is a God, when you pass you will be in good hands. If there is no God you will rest the peaceful rest of eternity.
I truly enjoy this journey with you.
There is something wonderful about having young love in the house again. Recently my youngest son came home with his girlfriend… a pretty girl from California with ambition, intelligence, a sweet sense of humor and a real closeness to my son. The two of them held hands, each other, and giggled at the other’s stupid jokes. The entire house warmed up.
As a father I love to see my children happy, no matter how old they get. This visit sparked memories of my younger days and the excitement of young love but it also held up a mirror to show me how wonderful the nearly 40 years of marriage to my wife has been. We still hold hands once in a while. We kiss every night and several times during the day. She is truly my best friend.
I thank my parents for insisting that marraige is a life long commitment. I grew up in the “free love” times and practiced its theories to the enth degree. There have been dozens of time that we would have seperated if we weren’t married or if we didn’t believe in it being a life long commitment.
I have no problem with people living together. It is their choice. But, for me and my wife, marriage, the vows and contract, have kept us together so that we can enjoy watching together our children grow, love, hurt, work, have their own children and face their futures together.
I am a fully amerced romantic. I cry at parades, watching children play, anytime someone shows great joy. I believe that the world would be far better if we would reward good works, empathy, and transparency. I am not a fool… I know people are wired differently. But, since all of the major religions of the world believe in loving each other and treating each other with respect, I find events like the crusades, jihad, and nation building totally hypocritical.
If only I could bottle that feeling I had this past weekend watching young and mature love warm my home.
In reading a blog by Denise Wymore http://denisewymore.wordpress.com/ the other day she hit on one of the sad truths of business today. She is a renown credit union “culture consultant… her words not mine. I’ve heard her speak several times and her presentation is always new and relaxed. Her post, “Planning to Plan” explains a weakness in most strategic planning session.
Denise said, “I have never SWOT-ted people (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats). I think that’s kind of a waste of time. Why? Because I usually see the same answers: Strengths – Our board. Our employees. Our members. Weaknesses – Branch locations. Technology. Training. Opportunities – Technology! Threats – Economy. Regulation. Banks.”
I have been involved in several of these so called “strategic planning” sessions over the years and in several industries. This is what happens. The “boss” calls for an all day session (or worse… 2 days) to go over the future plans of the business. Lots of expensive food is ordered for the board or the VIPs in the business. If the workers are involved hamburgers are brought in. Mind you, I have usually been in the expensive food group so I’m not complaining about that. Well, yes I am.
The workers are almost always separated from the board, except sometimes there is a late session, where the board shows how much they care about the workers by listening to their ideas and then explaining why they won’t work. Usually, it’s because the employees are not smart enough to understand the big picture.
I’m changing the word “workers” to “employees”. It seems less communistic.
Discussions start about the strengths. Most of the time this deteriorates into a credit grabbing, mutual admiration society meeting.
Now, there is a break for food and a pee.
Then there is a turn toward weaknesses. This discussion quite often turns into veiled finger pointing (sometimes not so veiled) and comments about problems that can’t or won’t be changed because no one has the guts to do anything without a committee study being done. You know where that will end up… or it costs too much.
Lunch break…
Then we turn to opportunities. Many times these are pet projects that will profit someone on the board. Or, they’re too expensive and we’ll do a study to determine the ROI. Excuse me for a minute while I puke………………………………..
We’ll take a break because someones butt has fallen asleep and the afternoon food is here.
My personal favorite is the next topic, threats. Or, as I call it, “the sky is falling session.” There are a thousand reasons why we can’t do anything and we need to hunker down and wait this this passes.
Now after a breif snack we’ll do what we have wanted to do all day… the MISSION STATEMENT. How many ways can you say we’ll do everything for everybody in every way.
Now after dinner we’ll invite the employees back to TELL them what we decided to do. There is really no need for this session because we told them the same thing last year and the year before, and the year before that. The staff has a few good ideas, but we probably can’t do any of them because there is not enough money this year.
In 360 days we’ll start the same process by having an administrative meeting to let the “boss” complain that we haven’t completed the plans from last year. The senior staff will run around for 3 days proving how much was done, and creating a diffinative document to cover their collective ass.
It would be so much easier if we had one meeting every ten years, decided what we do better than everybody else and concentrate on doing that better, hired people who shared our values, and put our energies into building that culture, then telling everyone who asked… who we are.
Number pushers are always behind the curve. It is a cowardly way to live and work. Hiding behind numbers is a way for many people (especially those who the “Peter Principle” applies) to slow work to a level that they can handle. Goethe once said, “Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.”
I will admit that my foolhardy desire to move fast, furiously and forward toward my dreams has gotten my tit in a ringer many times. Ask my wife. She, by the way, is my voice of reason. I get angry at her at times for her shyness and timidity, as well as the rolling of her eyes when I propose an idea that is little more than a pipe dream. But, she does give me reason to step back occassionally and see if there is any water in the pool before I dive.
Life is better (at least for me) if I take the next step, NOW. That way I have few regrets about things left undone out of fear. We all need to measure our steps a little, but to become frozen in life because of the “what ifs”, “who cares” and “stress tests” in this over measured society, is not fully living. I don’t think we should all go sky diving, but to rationalize everything and apply “prudence” to every decision makes “Norm” a dull boy.
If the pencil pushers and naysayer had their way we would have never visited the moon, sailed across the oceans, started Walmart for God’s sake..
Take the next step, NOW.
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